In 1895, the UMKC 法学院 was founded by volunteer attorneys. 今天, 执业律师, 他们大多是校友, volunteer their time and expertise as adjunct faculty to prepare the next generation of attorneys. 

2022年春季学期, more than 35 attorneys served as adjunct instructors for the 法学院, teaching courses that ranged from federal trial practice to estate planning to disabilities and the law.

The generosity of adjunct faculty allows the 法学院 to offer more courses for students than most larger law schools. This also means that the student-faculty ratios in these courses are often quite low — about 12:1 — so students have an opportunity to develop strong mentoring relationships with local 执业律师.

Throughout the 2022 academic year, volunteer adjunct faculty generated 1,301 student credit hours. Adjuncts taught or co-taught with more than 900 total enrollments across the courses. 考虑到第一年的课程没有兼职教授, Dean Barbara Glesner Fines estimates the average upper-level student is taking at least two-and-a-half courses with adjunct professors. UMKC Law is recognized as a top school for practical skills training. 罚款的评论, "a big part of that is the expertise and experience our adjuncts bring to the classroom."

兼职教师可以丰富学校课程的各个方面. Many enjoy teaching in the law school’s innovative “mini-term” courses. Offered in an intensive one-week format between regular semesters or over Spring Break, these one credit-hour courses may introduce students to a specific area of practice. Course examples include: State and Local Government Law in a Nutshell, taught by Steve Moore (J.D. ’77); or Introduction to Workers Compensation Law and Practice, developed by Joan Klosterman (J.D. 1988年)和尊敬的丽莎·迈纳斯(J.D. ’96).

Other mini-term courses explore a very specific problem in law and give students hands-on training to address those issues in practice. 例如，保罗·安德森(J.D. 12)开设了一门专注于脑震荡诉讼的课程, just as society was first becoming aware of the problems caused by sports concussions. 他目前教授密苏里州大麻法规的课程. 米拉·姆迪瓦尼(J.D. 1999年)和丹尼尔·艾奇森(J.D. ’14, MBA ’19) train students to help businesses obtain visas for international personnel. 每隔一个学期, they guide students through the skills necessary to represent immigrant victims of domestic violence. Kendall Seal (J).D. ’08)与他的学生探讨了人口贩卖问题.

“As far as I know there is only one other law school in the nation, 辛辛那提大学, 谁的校友和社区成员都自愿担任兼职教授,菲恩斯说. 鉴于市场对顶尖人才的竞争激烈, adjuncts may see their teaching as a recruitment opportunity for their law firms. Volunteer teaching fulfills most of an attorney’s requirement for annual continuing education, 节省开支.”

“But these reasons are not what keep adjuncts coming back to the classroom year after year,她接着说. “Probably the most common reason adjuncts teach is because they simply enjoy interacting with students and view their teaching as a way to fulfill the duty all attorneys have to provide pro bono service to the profession. Others see teaching as the best way to stay current and hone their expertise in their field, 让他们成为更好的律师.”

有些兼职教师一教就是几十年. 兼职教授吉姆·威施(LL.M. 1981年，他第一次教授刑事审判技巧课程. 他早年曾得到国会议员的协助. 查尔斯·阿特韦尔(J.D. 1978年)，不久之后，他的律师合伙人J.R. 霍布斯(J.D. ’81). Wyrsch和Hobbs今天还在开这门课.

Some of the school’s most highly ranked programs were originally staffed by adjunct faculty under the supervision of a single full-time professor. The nationally ranked Trial Advocacy Program was limited to only 12 students each year until UMKC Law alumni, 包括蒂姆·杜勒, approached Dean Jeffrey Berman to advocate for an expanded program. 今天, a team of 13 adjunct faculty members teach the Trial Advocacy I course under the direction of Professor Michaelle Tobin. 家庭法项目, 在全国排名前四, benefits from dedicated alumni who teach the Family Law Practice course. 临床教授Mary Kay O 'Malley指导本课程, taught by a team of nine adjuncts; the course was first developed by adjunct professor Betsy Ann Stewart (J.D. ’67).  

Glesner Fines said some clinic-based programs require a significant time commitment from volunteer adjuncts.

“Not only do the faculty have to train the students in the doctrine and skills,菲恩斯说, "they then have to take on actual cases for clients and supervise students representing those clients.”

One example is the Abandoned Housing Clinic, founded by Adjunct Professor David White (J.D. ’82). 诊所里的学生代表堪萨斯城土地银行, clearing property titles so the city can move them to productive uses. Currently that clinic is directed and taught by Adjunct Professors Brandon Mason (J.D. 安吉洛·班克斯(Angelo Banks) (J.D. ’19).

Glesner Fines is grateful for the contributions of her adjunct faculty. “I’m so proud of their willingness to step up and take on this big job.”